Group Pushing Local Marijuana Law

Discussion in 'Marijuana Legalization' started by IndianaToker, Feb 4, 2006.

  1. By Rosanna Mah, The Independent Staff Writer
    Source: Los Angeles Independent

    California -- A marijuana advocacy group is putting together a signature-gathering drive for a ballot initiative that will require the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station to make enforcing adult marijuana offenses its lowest priority.
    But both supporters of the proposed measure and officials agree that passage of the initiative would be largely symbolic.


    City Councilman John Duran pointed out that unlike the city of Oakland, which has passed a similar initiative, West Hollywood does not have direct supervision and oversight of the sheriff's station, whose services are contracted by the city.

    Duran said he planned to bring the issue for a council vote in the first week of March to avoid the costly initiative process, “because a lot of the things they are seeking in the initiative are already current practices of the city.”


    The proposed initiative is an effort to decriminalize marijuana use by having West Hollywood officials specify in their contract with law enforcement officials that any investigations, citations, arrests, property seizures and prosecutions for adult marijuana use will be made its lowest priority.


    It also calls on city officials to establish a policy that supports federal and state taxation and regulation of marijuana.


    The marijuana initiative - which targets personal use - will not apply to cases involving drug-dealing to minors, or sale, distribution, cultivation, or use on public property as well as driving under the influence.


    West Hollywood residents Jessica Canada and Lars Hedman, who are affiliated with the newly-formed West Hollywood Civil Liberties Alliance, have filed a notice of intent at the city clerk's office to begin circulating the petition.


    The West Hollywood city attorney has 15 days to review and prepare a ballot title and summary.


    Once the measure is prepared, initiative backers must collect over 3,500 valid signatures, over the next 180 days, to qualify for the November ballot.


    Writer Mike Grey of Los Angeles, co-chair of the Alliance, said that a recent poll showed that around 80 percent of West Hollywood voters would pass the drug reform measure. He said similar efforts are underway in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara.


    “This is not going to be an earth-shaking event in West Hollywood,” said Grey. “but I think this will be significant in Los Angeles County. ... We hope that the Los Angeles City Council and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will begin to discuss this issue of
    marijuana use more openly.”


    But officials say it should not come as a surprise if arrests statistics on pot busts are already low in some cities including West Hollywood, a liberal city known for its friendly laws towards medical marijuana use.


    “I imagine if you look at the statistics, you wouldn't find a lot of arrests on adult use of recreational use of marijuana in their own private residences,” said West Hollywood City Attorney Mike Jenkins.


    “It's not the product of anything official, it's probably what you would find in the statistics for any law enforcement agency.”


    Capt. David Long, who heads the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station, said he did not believe that pot busts in West Hollywood were “very high” but emphasized that drug laws in the state of California still prohibit recreational use of marijuana.


    “I don't think it's very high,” said Long. “This is the first I've heard of this [ballot initiative], and I haven't had a chance to research it.


    “I don't know how much time we spend on marijuana cases ... but people don't usually go to jail for the use of marijuana. They go to jail for the sale of marijuana. [Typically] it's just a citation, they go court and it's like a speeding ticket so long it's under a specific amount and for personal use - where it's less that an ounce - but ... it's a citable fine.”

    Bruce Margolin, a criminal defense attorney and co-chair of the initiative, said the petition was a “public expression” of how people feel about the federal and state governments' failed war on drugs.

    Margolin, who supports the legalization of pot use, said California wastes over $150 million of taxpayer dollars annually on enforcing marijuana laws that harshly penalize pot users for a nonviolent offense.


    “During my 38 years as a criminal defense attorney, I have seen many young people go to jail along with robbers and murderers because of marijuana convictions, and it's a tragedy,” said Margolin, director of the L.A. chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML).


    Margolin said that marijuana use among adults should be a constitutional right, not considered a criminal offense.


    If West Hollywood voters approve the measure, it will follow the footsteps of other cities, such as Seattle, Denver, Oakland, Calif., and Columbia, Mo. that passed similar initiatives ordering police to make low-level marijuana arrests their lowest priority.


    Source: Los Angeles Independent (CA)
    Author: Rosanna Mah, The Independent Staff Writer
    Published: February 1, 2006
    Copyright: 2006 Los Angeles Independent Newspaper Group
    Contact: editor@laindependent.com
    Website: http://www.laindependent.com/
    Link to article: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21563.shtml

     

Share This Page